An Analysis of COVID-19 News Articles: How Media Creates Cognitive Distortions Through Psychological Biases

Abstract

A variety of sources from all over the political spectrum that focus on the Novel COVID-19 Pandemic between the months of February and November 2020 are analyzed to find psychological biases. This small sample size of stories exemplify the biases and human instincts which lead to the cognitive dissonances affecting the state of the American mind. The results of this analysis support the hypothesis, that psychological biases lead to widespread cognitive distortions which inhibit the United States from independent thought. The analysis further considers the effects of these biases and the subsequent lack of critical thinking on the American political and social climate, concluding that free thought is indeed in danger.